TECHNICAL PAPERS
Jun 1, 1983

Ground‐Water Mounding Due to On‐Site Sewage Disposal

Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 109, Issue 2

Abstract

Localized ground‐water mounding beneath larger on‐site sewage disposal fields (leach fields) may be a major problem which previously had not been adequately addressed. Existing methods to predict mounding, mainly developed for ground‐water recharge spreading basins, are reviewed for applicability to sewage disposal fields. A most appropriate and accurate method is selected and considerably simplified to provide a convenient, straightforward prediction procedure for regulatory agencies and designers. The major simplification, to a single equation, is particularly accurate after longer wastewater application times, of say 10 to 20 years, when mounding is of most concern. Sensitivities of the procedure to the various simplifications, site factors, and design and management options are discussed and presented in graphical form where significant. Alternative means to reduce mounding are reviewed. Mounding problems and potential mitigation measures should be made more widely known, and long‐term field verification of the theory is needed.

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References

1.
Amar, A. C., “Theory of Ground‐Water Recharge for a Strip Basin,” Ground Water, Vol. 13, No. 3, May–June, 1975, pp. 282–292.
2.
Bianchi, W. C., and Haskell, E. E., Jr., “Field Observations Compared with Dupuit‐Forchheimer Theory for Mound Heights under a Recharge Basin,” Water Resources Research, Vol. 4, No. 5, Oct., 1968, pp. 1049–1057.
3.
Bianchi, W. C., and Muckel, D. C., “Ground‐Water Recharge Hydrology,” Report No. ARS 41–161, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., Dec., 1970.
4.
“Design Manual‐On‐Site Wastewater Treatment and Disposal Systems,” SCS Engineers, and Rural Systems Engineering, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, Ohio, Oct., 1980.
5.
Dewalle, F. B., “Failure Analysis of Large Septic Tank Systems,” Journal of the Environmental Engineering Division, ASCE, Vol. 107, No. EE1, Proc. Paper 16053, Feb., 1981, pp. 229–240.
6.
Fielding, M. B., “Ground Water Mounding Under Leaching Beds,” Proceedings of the Third National Symposium on Individual and Small Community Sewage Treatment, American Society of Agricultural Engineers, Publication 1‐82, 1982, pp. 215–222.
7.
Freeze, R. A., and Cherry, J. A., Groundwater, Prentice‐Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1979.
8.
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Okeke, A. C., Converse, J. C., Tyler, E. J., and Bubenzer, G. B., “Spacing of Curtain Drains on Sloping Land for On‐Site Soil Absorption System,” Proceedings of the Third National Symposium on Individual and Small Community Sewage Treatment, Publication 1‐82, American Society of Agricultural Engineers, 1982, pp. 273–281.
14.
Otis, R. J., “Design of Pressure Distribution Networks for Septic Tank‐Soil Absorption Systems,” Report No. 9.6, Small Scale Waste Management Project, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisc., Jan., 1981.
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Rao, N. H., and Sarma, P. B. S., “Growth of Ground Water Mound in Response to Recharge,” Ground Water, Vol. 18, No. 6, Nov.–Dec., 1980, pp. 587–595.
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Go to Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 109Issue 2June 1983
Pages: 199 - 210

History

Published online: Jun 1, 1983
Published in print: Jun 1983

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Authors

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E. John Finnemore, M. ASCE
Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Civ. Engrg., Univ. of Santa Clara, Santa Clara, Calif.
N. Hantzsche
Principal Engr., Questa Engrg., Point Richmond, Calif.

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